School of Music

PRESENTS THE Percussion Ensemble Chris Moore, conductor Concert Band Dr. Brandon Houghtalen, conductor

AND Symphonic Band Benjamin J. Diden, conductor

February 20, 2014 7:30pm Ferst Center for the Arts

www.music.gatech.edu PROGRAM Percussion Ensemble Crown of Thorns...... David Maslanka Concert Band Second Suite in F for Military Band Op. 28 No. 2...... Gustav Holst I. March II. Song Without Words III. Song of the Blacksmith IV. Fantasia on the ‘Dargason’ Vesuvius...... Frank Ticheli

INTERMISSION

Symphonic Band Ecstatic Fanfare...... Steven Bryant First Suite in Eb for Military Band Op. 28 No. 1...... Gustav Holst I. Chaconne II. Intermezzo III. March Suite Dreams...... Steven Bryant Two-Lane Blacktop...... James David Premiere- Commissioned by the GT Symphonic Band as part of an international consortium of Wind Ensembles

There will be a reception hosted by the sisters of Tau Beta Sigma Sorority in the lobby immediately following the concert. Visit us online at: www.georgiatechband.com or follow us on Facebook (Georgia Institute of Technology Bands) and Twitter (@GeorgiaTechBand)

Special thanks to the brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi for their help with equipment for this concert. Percussion Ensemble Program Notes

The title Crown of Thorns is an obvious reference to Christ’s “Crown of Thorns,” but the name first came to me as a possible title for a piece from seeing a plant called “Crown of Thorns” at the New York Botanical Gardens. This is a rambling, thorny, desert plant form the Middle East, with small, very simple and pretty red flowers. The rambling, interweaving, vin-like stems suggested music to me.

As I meditated on the words “crown of thorns,” and on the plant, the idea of a work for keyboard percussion ensemble, the following image arose:

a darkening sky seven starts are visible: the seven-starred halo the golden light the hands of blessing

The seven-starred halo is the crown of thorns transcended. It is the crown of highest spiritual power arrived through the greatest depth of suffering. The imagery is Christian, but the experience transcends religion, and is universal. The music is at times sober and reflective, but is, for the most part, filled with the joy and energy of liberation. Concert Band Program Notes

Second Suite in F Op. 28 No. 2 (1911)- Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Like the First Suite of 1909, the Second Suite for military band had to wait more than ten years before it entered the repertoire [though it has not lacked in performance since]. Composed in 1911, it did not receive a public performance until June 30th 1922, when the band of the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, played it at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The program note for that performance stated that the Suite had been ‘put aside and forgotten’ after 1911. Yet the manuscript (now in the British Library, London, Add. MS 47825) shows signs of considerable haste, and a great deal of revision, and Imogen Holst [the composer’s daughter] believed that the work was originally written for a specific occasion (possibly the 1911 ‘Festival of Empire’ held at the Crystal Palace), even if it was not performed at that time. Unlike its predecessor, the Second Suite is based entirely on material from folk songs and morris dances. Notes by Colin Matthews

Vesuvius (1999)- Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)

“Vesuvius is, above all, a furious dance.”

Frank Ticheli’s music has been described as being “optimistic and thoughtful” (Los Angeles Times), “lean and muscular” (The New York Times), “brilliantly effective” (Miami Herald) and “powerful, deeply felt crafted with impressive flair and an ear for striking instrumental colors” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). Ticheli (b. 1958) joined the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in 1991, where he is Pro- fessor of Composition. From 1991 to 1998, Ticheli was Composer in Residence of the Pacific Symphony. Ticheli’s orchestral works have received considerable recognition in the U.S. and Europe. Orchestral perfor- mances have come from the Philadelphia , Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Dallas Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, the radio of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Saarbruecken, and Austria, and the orchestras of Austin, Bridgeport, Charlotte, Colorado, Haddonfield, Harrisburg, Hong Kong, Jacksonville, Lan- sing, Long Island, Louisville, Lubbock, Memphis, Nashville, Omaha, Phoenix, Portland, Richmond, San Antonio, San Jose, Wichita Falls, and others. Ticheli is well known for his works for concert band, many of which have become standards in the repertoire. In addition to composing, he has appeared as guest conductor of his music at Carnegie Hall, at many American universities and music festivals, and in cities throughout the world, including Schladming (Austria), Beijing and Shanghai, London and Manchester, Singapore, Rome, Sydney, and numerous cities in Japan.

He is the recipient of a 2012 Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, his third award from that prestigious organization. His Symphony No. 2 was named winner of the 2006 NBA/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest. Other awards include the Walter Beeler Memorial Prize and First Prize awards in the Texas Sesquicentennial Orchestral Composition Competition, Britten-on-the-Bay Choral Composition Contest, and Virginia CBDNA Symposium for New Band Music.

Ticheli was awarded national honorary membership to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, “bestowed to individuals who have significantly contributed to the cause of music in America,” and the A. Austin Harding Award by the American School Band Directors Association, “given to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the school band movement in America.” At USC, he has received the Virginia Ramo Award for excellence in teaching, and the Dean’s Award for Professional Achievement.

Ticheli received his doctoral and masters degrees in composition from The University of Michigan. His works are published by Manhattan Beach, Southern, Hinshaw, and Encore Music, and are recorded on the labels of Albany, Chandos, Clarion, Klavier, Koch International, Mark and Naxos.

Ticheli writes:

Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed Pompeii in A.D. 79, is an icon of power and energy in this work. Originally I had in mind a wild and passionate dance such as might have been performed at an ancient Roman Bacchanalia. During the compositional process, I began to envision something more explosive and fiery. With its driving rhythms, exotic modes, and quotations from the Dies Irae from the medieval Requiem Mass, it became evident that the Bacchanalia I was writing could represent a dance from the final days of the doomed city of Pompeii.

Notes by the Composer Symphonic Band Program Notes

MetaMarch- Steven Bryant (b. 1972)

Steven Bryant, the son of a professional trumpeter and music educator, composes music across a variety of media and ensembles, ranging from electronic and electro-acoustic works, to chamber music, to works for wind ensembles and orchestras. Steven strongly values music education, and his creative output includes a number of works for young and developing musicians.

Steven’s music has been performed by numerous ensembles across North America, Europe, and East Asia. He is a three- time winner of the National Band Association’s William D. Revelli Composition Award: in 2010 for Ecstatic Waters, in 2008 for Suite Dreams, and in 2007 for his work Radiant Joy. His first orchestral work, Loose Id for Orchestra, hailed by celebrated composer Samuel Adler as “orchestrated like a virtuoso,” was premiered by The Juilliard Symphony and is featured on a CD release by the Bowling Green Philharmonia on Albany Records. Alchemy in Silent Spaces, a new large- scale work commissioned by James DePreist and The Juilliard School, was premiered by the Juilliard Orchestra in May 2006. Since its 2008 premiere, his seminal work for large ensemble and electronics Ecstatic Waters has become the most performed work of its kind in the world.

Steven is a founding member of the composer-consortium BCM International: four stylistically-diverse composers from across the country. BCM's music has generated a following of thousands around the world and two recordings: "BCM Saves the World" (2002, Mark Custom Records) and "BCM Men of Industry" (2004, BCM Records).

Steven studied composition with John Corigliano at The Juilliard School, Cindy McTee at the University of North Texas, and Francis MacBeth at Ouachita University, and trained for one summer in the mid-1980s as a breakdancer. He resides in Durham, NC. For more information, please visit his website at http://www.stevenbryant.com.

Ecstatic Fanfare (2012) is a short fanfare based on the tutti section from Movement’ I of Ecstatic Waters (2008) and unlike that work, it does not require electronics, water glasses, celesta, or a Mahler hammer.

First Suite in E flat for Military Band- Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Gustav Holst was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed a large number of works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, including the English folksong revival of the early 20th century.

There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the professionally, and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was a significant influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, since then recordings of much of his output have been available.

TheFirst Suite in E-flat for Military Band, Op. 28, No. 1 (1911), by the British composer Gustav Holst is considered one of the cornerstone masterworks in the concert band repertoire. Officially premiered in 1920 at the Royal Military School of Music, the manuscript was originally completed in 1909. Along with the subsequent Second Suite in F for Military Band, written in 1911 and premiered in 1922, the First Suite was the catalyzing force that convinced many other prominent composers that serious music could be written specifically for the combination of woodwinds, percussion and brass. Works such as the English Folk Song Suite (1923) of Ralph Vaughan Williams and the William Byrd Suite (1923) of Gordon Jacob are leading examples. The Suite in E-flat was Holst's first composition written for military band. Frederick Fennell, in Time and the Winds, observes that Holst's scoring for the work is so well conceived and organized for the band medium, that he must have had some previous experiences with groups of this kind. Indeed, Holst was himself a formidable trombonist, having already performed several seasons with the Scottish Orchestra prior to the composition of the suite. In addition, while still in college, he performed during the summers with various seaside bands, and was admittedly unsatisfied with the music that those ensembles performed. Even though these experiences likely contributed to the composition of the suite, there is no recorded commission for the work, and the reason for Holst's writing of the suite is unknown.

Suite Dreams- Steven Bryant (b. 1972)

Suite Dreams (2007) is the fourth and final of the parody suite pieces. Unlike the others (Chester Leaps In, ImPercynations, and MetaMarch), it’s not intentionally funny and tongue-in-cheek in character. Rather, it’s a dream like fantasia based on Holst’s First Suite in E flat. The motivic material is almost exclusively from the inverted Chaconne melody in the Movement I and Movement III.

Two-Lane Blacktop- James M. David (b. 1978)

James M. David is assistant professor of composition and music theory at Colorado State University. His music has been hailed as "deserving of inclusion in the standard repertoire" (American Record Guide) and "quietly mesmerizing with joyous melodies" (Downtown Music Guide NYC). Among the distinctions David has earned as a composer are an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, national first-place winner in the MTNA Young Artists Composition Competition, winner of the Dallas Wind Symphony International Fanfare Competition, and national first-place winner in the National Association of Composers (USA) Young Composers Competition. Commissions include projects for Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic), John Bruce Yeh (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), the Oasis Quartet, Robert Spring (Arizona State University), Blair Bollinger (Philadelphia Orchestra), The International Saxophone Symposium and Competition, and the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association.

His works have been performed at more than forty conferences and festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. These events include two SCI National Conferences, CMS National and Regional Conferences, the MTNA National Conference, two World Saxophone Congresses, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and six International Fests. His works for wind ensemble have been performed by many prominent professional and university ensembles such as The U. S. Army Band, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Ohio State University, the University of North Texas, the World Youth Wind Symphony, the University of Alabama, and the University of Washington among many others. Dr. David graduated with honors from the University of Georgia and completed his doctorate in composition at Florida State University. His music is available through Pebblehill Music Publishers, C. Alan Publications, Potenza Music, and Lovebird Music and has been recorded for the Naxos, Albany, Summit, Luminescence, and MSR Classics labels.

Two-Lane Blacktop (2013) is an homage to the open road and the distant horizon. Inspired by Mary Heilmann’s abstract painting of the same name, this short work for wind ensemble is a similarly abstract etude about tempo, rhythm, and movement. An opening ascending gesture is heard throughout that represents “gear shifts” that alternate with increasingly complex variations on a three-note motive. The contrasting center section employs a soaring saxophone melody that depicts the timeless feeling of driving through the Utah desert. Finally, the variations build to maximum complexity only to collapse into a single intense acceleration. PERSONNEL Percussion Ensemble

Eric Carter - Machenical Engineering - Fulton, MD Aaron George - Biomedical Engineering - Marietta, GA Anna Gwaltney - Chemical Engineering - Marietta, GA Wes Hunt - Civil Engineering - Woodstock, GA Nicholas Lah - Business Administration - Longwood, FL Jesse Locklear - Computer Engineering - Dallas, GA Wayne Lu - Computer Science - Roswell, GA Sean Pettit - Materials Science Engineering - Roswell, GA Allen Rawl - Nuclear and Radiological Engineering - Woodbine, GA Tyle Romeu - Chemical Engineering - Marietta, GA Erin Seligsohn - Mechanical Engineering - Tampa, FL Hazel Shah - Biochemistry - Stockbridge, GA Eric Turnquist - Psychology - Roswell, GA Akarsh Vinod - Mechanical Engineering - Abu Dhabi, UAE PERSONNEL Concert Band Flute Horn Hannah Lau - Computer Science - Johns Creek, GA Gregory Cooke - Materials Science and Engineering Jingyu Zhu - Industrial Engineering - China Lawrenceville, GA Vaughan Nickerson - Computer Science - Milton, GA Genie Marett - Chemical Engineering Kayla Carter - Biology - Fulton, MD Winston Salem, NC Lauren Gagnon - Mechanical Engineering Robert Proctor - Computer Engineering - Ringgold, GA Coos Bay, Oregon Jason Kahei Tam - Civil Engineering - Hong Kong Mark Corrin - Biomedical Engineering - Nashville, TN Caitlin Berriga - Aerospace Engineering - Anne Arbor, Heather Noyes - Biomedical Engineering - Golden, CO MI Clarinet Eun Chang Park - Mechanical Engineering - Korea Jose Rojas - Biomedical Engineering - Evans, GA Alex Lewis - International Affairs and Modern Peizheng Ma - Electrical and Computer Engineering Languages - Grovetown, GA China Jordan Holley - Computer Engineering Derek Hamrick - Aerospace Engineering - Marietta, GA Lawrenceville, GA Allison Carr - Environmental Engineering Yi Zhou - Mechanical Engineering - China McDonough, GA Kevone Hospedales - Computer Engineering Casey Moore - Biomedical Engineering - Milton Fayetteville, GA Leo Wang - Biomedical Engineering - Johns Creek, GA Euphonium Corey Burke - Electrical Engineering - Augusta, GA Kyle Sartin - Business Administration Anika Reza - Biomedical Engineering Lawrenceville, GA Conyers, GA Wyatt Martin - Biochemistry - Cumming, GA Amber Harris - Applied Mathematics Caitlin Bowles - Biomedical Engineering Pasadena, MD Lagrange, GA Alto Saxophone Zach Guskey - Chemical Engineering - Cincinnati, OH James Clements - Aerospace Engineering Villa Rica, GA Rayleen Lewis - Biomedical Engineering Lloyd Anders - Mechanical Engineering Clarksburg, WV Peachtree City, GA Ana Minchew - Biochemistry - Longwood, FL Rebecca Withers - Aerospace Engineering Clayton, NC Tenor Saxophone Aaron McAnally - Computer Science - Pucellville, VA Stein Lobo - Computer Engineering - Conyers, GA Dustin Reese - Computer Engineering Baritone Saxophone Stone Mountain, GA Jessica Daigle - Chemical and Biomolecular Matthew Jenkins - Chemical Engineering Engineering - Marietta, GA Augusta, GA Andrew Joyce - Chemical Engineering - Grayson Trombone Nicole Kennard - Materials Science and Engineering Percussion Acworth, GA Eric Carter - Mechanical Engineering - Fulton, MD Christopher Hanes - Mechanical Engineering Wes Hunt - Civil Engineering - Canton, GA Alpharetta, GA Nick Lai - Business Administration - Ideal, GA Zach Levine - Aerospace Engineering - San Diego, CA Chris Phillips - Mechanical Engineering - Millidgeville PERSONNEL Symphonic Band Flute Trumpet Sydney Butler - Civil Engineering - Cumming, GA Joe Boltri* - Biomedical Engineering - Macon, GA Taylor Jarrells - History, Technology, and Science Josh Dotson - Computer Science - Cumming, GA Roswell, GA Brian Kuo - Electrical Engineering - Sterling, VA Mary Littrell - Material Science and Engineering Austin McKeand - Biomedical Engineering Aiken, SC Peachtree City, GA Carolyn McPherson - Biomedical Engineering Aaron Perreault - Chemical Engineering Augusta, GA Lake Mary, Florida Jihwan Oh - Industrial Engineering - Macon, GA Steven Seligsohn - Computer Engineering - Tampa, FL Marissa Power* - Mechanical Engineering Alex Tompkins* - Aerospace Engineering - Ventura, GA Tullahoma, TN Victoria Tuck - Electrical Engineering - Dunwoody, GA Kyle Julian - Aerospace Engineering - Vestavia Hills, AL Hope McGeady - Biomedical Engineering Oboe Sebastian, FL Sarah Kingsley* - Biomedical Engineering - Atlanta, GA Colin Sanders* - Electrical Engineering - Jupiter, FL Emma Poe-Yamagata - Biomedical Engineering William Woolery - Civil Engineering Olney, MD San Francisco, CA Karla Wagner - Materials Science and Engineering Marietta, GA Trombone Hannah Carlton - Computer Science - Ringgold, GA Joseph Lind* - Masters in Electrical and Computer Erin Flynn - Materials Science and Engineering-Roswell Engineering - Roswell, GA Cullen Mowery* - Mechanical Engineering - Marietta Sean Tighe - Materials Science and Engineering Milledgeville, GA Clarinet Ian Andrew - Aerospace Engineering - Marietta, GA Euphonium Laura Corpe - Business Administration - Augusta, GA Andrew Blanchard* - Aerospace Engineering Brian Decker* - Mechanical Engineering - Bonaire, GA Stockbridge, GA Theresa Kilian - Mechanical Engineering - Roswell, GA Leo Espinosa - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Richard Li - Computer Science - Simpsonville, SC Kennesaw, GA Carli Walker - Business Administration - Union, SC Karie Yamamoto - Environmental Engineering Tuba Renton, WA Joe Bryant* - Chemical Engineering - Marietta, GA Remson Covington - Industrial Engineering Alto Saxophone Asheville, NC Caleb Baldwin-Mechanical Engineering-Acworth, GA Doug Horgen - Mechanical Engineering Shane Hitechew - Mechanical Engineering Fayetteville, GA Fayetteville, GA Sterling Smith - Chemical and Biomolecular Percussion Engineering - Corning, NY Wes Hunt - Civil Engineering - Canton, GA Alex Zickar* - Civil Engineering - Marietta, GA Harrison Katz - Computer Science - Endwell, NY Wayne Lu - Computer Science - Roswell, GA Bass Clarinet Joseph Santilli - Computer Engineering - Miami, FL Sado Do - Computer Science - Lawrenceville, GA Prateek (Neil) Viswanathan - Biomedical Engineering/ Pre Law - Johns Creek, GA

Tenor Saxophone Double Bass Cameron Bradberry - Architecture - Marietta, GA John Schmidt - Computer Engineering - Norcross

Baritone Saxophone Piano W. Calvin Millar - Physics - Saratoga Springs, NY Richard Wan - Computer Engineering - Milton UPCOMING CONCERTS

Music @ Tech GT Student Ensembles in Concert

Symphony Orchestra and Choirs - Sun., Feb. 23 at 3PM Ferst Center - Free

Jazz Ensembles - Thurs., Feb. 27 at 7:30PM Ferst Center - Free

Chamber Choir - Sat., April 5 at 8PM Monteverdi “Vespers” 1610- First Presbyterian Church- Tickets Re- quired

Spring Choral Concert - Sun., April 13 at 3PM Location- TBA on campus

Concert Band and Symphonic Band - Sun., April 13 at 3PM Ferst Center - Free

Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra- Sun., April 13 at 7:00PM Ferst Center - Free

Percussion Ensembles- Mon., April 14 at 7:30PM Couch Building- Room 115 - Free

Glee Club Concert - Mon., April 21 at 8PM Klaus Atrium- Free School of Music

Georgia Tech School of Music Faculty

Frank Clark, Ph.D. Chair and Professor of Music

Cameron Crotts, D.M.A. Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Director of Bands

Benjamin Diden, M.M. Assistant Director of Bands

Jason Freeman, D.M.A. Composition and Music Technology

Brandon Houghtalen, D.M.A. Visiting Assistant Professor

Timothy Hsu, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

Alexander Lerch, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Center for Music Technology

Chris Moore, M.M. Associate Director of Bands, Director of Percussion Studies

Jerry Ulrich, D.M.A. Director of Choral Activities

Gil Weinberg, Ph.D. Director of Music Technology

www.music.gatech.edu